GEORGIA'S ANNUAL NATO ASSESSMENT: ON BALANCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TBILISI 000164

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR DAS BRYZA, EUR/CARC, AND EUR/RPM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/01/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV GG
SUBJECT: GEORGIA'S ANNUAL NATO ASSESSMENT: ON BALANCE
POSITIVE

Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOHN F. TEFFT. REASONS: 1.4 (B) AND (D).


1. (C) Summary: On January 31, NATO International Staff
(IS) briefed NATO Ambassadors and Defense Attaches in Tbilisi
on the highlights of their latest assessment of Georgia's
International Partnership Action Plan (IPAP),the draft of
which would be circulated to NATO Allies in Brussels by
mid-February. Delegation Head Robert Weaver characterized
the assessment as overall positive. He and others said that
the Georgian preparation and planning for this assessment was
the best the team had ever seen. They also noted that
Georgians, for the first time, were "getting it" in that they
are no longer claiming that everything is perfect. Despite a
tough political year, they noted substantial reform progress.
On political issues, NATO IS reported good progress
including the passage of a law on ex parte communications,
less use of pre-trial detention, and the opening of the High
School of Justice. Still, they emphasized the need for more
progress on judicial independence. They also highlighted the
importance of staying on track toward peaceful resolution of
the conflicts, better engagement with civil society and
improving the elections process before parliamentary
elections in May. On defense issues, NATO IS commended
Georgia's Strategic Defense Review (SDR) and the consultative
way in which it was developed and noted areas of improvement
including better use of the defense acquisitions process,
improving the functioning of the joint staff and fixing the
military personnel system. He said Georgia needs to make
some key decisions soon including on a Navy and Air Force.
End summary.

--------------
OVERALL POSITIVE REPORT
--------------


2. (C) On January 31, NATO International Staff (IS) members
in Tbilisi briefed NATO Ambassadors and Defense Attaches on
the highlights of their latest assessment, the draft of which
would be circulated to NATO Allies in Brussels by
mid-February. NATO IS Delegation Head Robert Weaver
characterized the assessment as overall positive. He and
others said that the Georgian preparation and planning for
this assessment -- the fifth -- was the best the team had
ever seen. He said the Georgians had taken seriously the
issues raised by the IPAP assessment last year and had
responded to each issue "point by point." Also, despite a
tough political year, there had been substantial reform
progress. He noted that Georgia's aspirations with regard to
a Membership Action Plan remained "extremely high" and
emphasized that the NATO IS team said that such a decision
was a political one that was up to the Allies.

--------------
JUDICIAL REFORM PROGRESS YET MORE WORK TO DO
--------------


3. (C) On political issues, NATO IS James Mackey reiterated
that Georgia was better prepared than ever. For the first
time, he said, Georgians were "getting it," and had began the
hard process of identifying shortcomings rather than simply
claiming that everything is perfect. He noted positively
that the Georgians had taken on the areas where the last
assessment identified concerns and offered detailed and
substantive responses. Citing judicial reform, he pointed to
progress in the passage of a law banning ex parte
communications, the less frequent use of pre-trial detention,
and the opening of the High School of Justice. He emphasized
the need for more progress on judicial independence. Weaver
also raised the importance of continued work toward the
peaceful resolution of conflicts and welcomed Georgia's
change of tone with Russia and the absence of anti-Russian
rhetoric.


4. (C) Turning to more controversial issues, Mackey said that
he approached the events of November 7 and the disputes
surrounding the elections by promoting "lessons learned" and
an adoption of "best practices." Mackey said he would draw
heavily from the language in the international monitoring
mission in his reference to the elections. He offered that
even civil society seemed to have difficulty in determining
what was a violation of the electoral code and assessed that
clarifying the electoral code is a key needed improvement
before the parliamentary elections. He said he also raised
the issue of the arrest last fall of former Defense Minister
Okruashvili. He said he advised the Georgian government to
use the case to prevent high level corruption in future, such
as by improving Parliamentary oversight over defense
expenditures. Weaver welcomed President Saakashvili's
creation of an advisory council to monitor high level
corruption.

TBILISI 00000164 002 OF 002



-------------- --------------
GOOD SDR ALTHOUGH SOME MORE WORK NEEDED ON DEFENSE REFORM
-------------- --------------


5. (C) On defense issues, NATO IS staff member Frank Boland
said that there were a number of areas in which the Georgians
showed clear signs of progress, including the Georgian
commitment to military operations which he termed impressive
for a country of Georgia's size. He also commended Georgia's
SDR and the consultative way in which it was developed.
Boland highlighted other areas of improvement including in
military education, nuclear/biological defense capabilities,
and the decision to end conscription and move to a fully
professional force. He noted areas of needed improvement
including better use of the defense acquisition process,
improving the functioning of the joint staff, and fixing the
personnel and resource management systems.


6. (C) Boland touched upon a couple of outstanding questions
which he said the Georgians needed to answer in the near
future. One was how or whether to consolidate logistics and
maintenance functions for MOD and MOIA helicopters. He had
been told this issue is with the National Security Council
and hoped there would be a final answer soon. A second was
the future shape of the Georgian Navy - whether it would be
along the lines of a military force or a coast guard. He
said NATO IS has advised that it should be a coast guard.
The third and final issue is the future of the air force.
Boland stressed the importance of Georgia being able to make
an offer of helicopters to Afghanistan as NATO is considering
leasing helicopters from other countries in order to try to
fill current requirements.


7. (C) NATO IS Bruce Bach added a concern on the issue of
training. He said that many Georgians are trained by NATO
governments only to return to Georgia but not to the Georgian
military, which he believed was a waste of a training slot
and Allied assistance. He said that he asked for a list of
all the military personnel trained abroad over the last four
years and where they are now -- almost 20%, he said, were no
longer in the military. He said NATO IS had criticized
Georgia on this point three or four years ago and suggested
that Allied governments press the Georgian Government on how
it will use military personnel once they return from training
abroad.

--------------
NATO WANTS PREDICTABILITY AND "NO SURPRISES"
--------------


8. (C) The team concluded that what the Allies are looking
for in Georgia is predictability in terms of the kind of
country and military force they would get in making the
political decision on membership. In essence, they said,
Allies want "no surprises." They also made clear Georgia's
right to call upon the 26 plus 1 format to present its views
directly to Allies in Brussels.

--------------
COMMENT
--------------


9. (C) Although Weaver said that the NATO Secretary General's
crucial statement following the November 7 events reflected
surprise that Georgia did not inform the Allies of its
actions, the NATO IS report was on balance positive and
forward looking. Privately, James Mackey expressed concern
that some of the allies might try to insert a lot of negative
into the report by focusing on the November 7 events in an
effort to influence discussions on whether Georgia is ready
for a MAP. In all his discussions with the Georgians and in
the report, he hoped to focus forward, on both the progress
and areas of continued needed work. Also privately, DCM
asked Boland how NATO IS sees Georgia compared with Ukraine.
Boland said the IS will know better after the next IPAP
Review of Ukraine in 3 weeks. But at this point, he saw
Georgia as a big step ahead. He welcomed Ukraine,s renewed
focus on IPAP but said there are significant fundamental
problems such as lack of realism on defense budgeting,
insufficient preparation and operational planning.
TEFFT